About Green Advantage

Top quality buildings require top quality builders.

To ensure that these workers possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for successful project delivery, Green Advantage focuses its efforts on credentialing the construction workforce to deliver state-of-the-art high performance, healthy buildings.

Soon after its founding in 1996, Green Advantage was awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to develop a green credential for construction workers. It has also enjoyed funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), The Nature Conservancy, and the Ford Foundation. With the help of its boards, staff, and volunteers Green Advantage has developed four ANSI-accredited credentials for use in the construction industry:

The Green Advantage Certified Practitioner (GACP) is designed for residential and commercial construction supervisory personnel in the U.S. and Canada. Applicable across trades and regardless of the green building rating system, standard or code utilized, the GACP requires candidates to pass a written exam to demonstrate familiarity with state-of-the-art green construction means, methods, materials, as well as over 800 green building best practices, supported by over 2,200 references.

The Green Advantage Certified Associate (GACA) is designed for residential and commercial construction field personnel in the U.S. and Canada. The GACA requires candidates to pass a written exam to demonstrate familiarity with a subset of the GACP standards, with over 300 green building best practices and over 1,400 references.

The Green Advantage Certified Curtainwall Installer (GAC|CI) is a trade-specific certification for construction personnel who install curtainwalls in the U.S. and Canada. The GAC|CI includes both written and performance testing that verifies workers’ knowledge, skills, and abilities related to curtainwall installation, with over 400 best practices and more than 1,000 references. The GACP or GACA is a prerequisite for the GAC|CI.

The Pre-construction Risk Assessment (PCRA) Certificate Program is targeted to U.S. healthcare construction workers, the PCRA Certificate Program requires familiarity with the means, methods, materials and best practices associated with healthcare facility risk assessment and basic infection control. The two-day training concludes with an exam. Candidates who attend the training and pass the exam are awarded a certificate.

We credential the people who build high performance, healthy buildings.​​